All Hail the Squeaky Wheel

[Mythsaje]

In historical terms, the United States is a young country. It was founded just over two hundred and twenty-five years ago, born out of the will of a small group of wealthy farmers to be free of the influence of King and Church. In the years since, it has been both a icon of liberty and a perpetrator of great injustice, but in the eyes of the world it has been a beacon of hope.

While we should always be aware of the dark side of the past, we should also be mindful of all the good things that the U.S. has pioneered. Democracy, in its many forms, would probably never have taken root in so many different places had we not shown how it could be done (and, in some cases, how it shouldn't be done).

Some of our detractors say we always blame America first. Or that we somehow hate this country. I can't speak for everyone here, nor would I want to, but I, for one, neither hate America nor blame it for all the world's ills. The world was a screwed up place before the United States came to be, and our country has done some great things to balance the scales a little.

But just because it is arguably the "greatest nation on Earth" (I say arguably--not saying it as a fact. It's opinion, and not even necessarily MINE) doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of room for improvement. There's always room for improvement.

That's the task we have taken upon ourselves--to point out the faults of our country and its leadership (be it Republican OR Democratic) and try to help our home rise above the low points of its history to be more of what the more idealistic of our predecessors might have wanted.

A land where anyone can contribute something valuable to the community, and be treated with due respect for his or her contributions--regardless of income level, gender, age, religion, race, sexual orientation, or anything else.

A land where the leaders realize that the judicious use of violence, in all its many forms, is preferable to using it willy-nilly with no specific purpose other than to flex its muscles.

A nation that cares as much for the soldiers who come home scarred as those who come home whole. A country that thinks that diplomacy matters, and that a war for oil and profits isn't of more inherent value than a battle for humanitarian purposes.

A land where the old and infirm aren't discarded, but treated with compassion and care. A land where innocence is protected, and those who can be redeemed are redeemed. A land that takes care of its own, and looks outside itself to see what aid it can render elsewhere.

In other words, a nation of which we can be proud--the home we were promised as children, and have since discovered isn't quite what it's cracked up to be.

That's all we ever wanted. And we're going to continue making noise until someone greases the wheels. We want justice for all, dammit. And we're not going to shut up until we get it.

Believe it.